Lek PharmaTech Ranks Second in Sales of Antibiotics

At the beginning of the year, Lek, the Slovenian pharmaceutical company, announced that it had acquired a 90% share of the private Romanian company PharmaTech. For Lek this acquisition provides an opportunity for the company to realize a synergy of its products, production and distribution capacities so as to achieve its strategic goals for sales and market share in Romania. Romania also provides a launch pad for Lek to internationalize its operations in this region.

Lek PharmaTech announced that all the postacquisition activities are progressing as planned. Lek PharmaTech ranked fifth in the first half of 2001 with its sales up 26% compared to H1 2000 – according to Ex Market Global Pharm, a Romanian pharmaceutical market analysis. Growth rate of the Romanian pharmaceutical market for the same period was 15%. The company has a 3.4% market share and ranks second in supplying the Romanian market with antibiotics. This also confirms that company’s product portfolio meets market needs.

Today’s presentation by Lek PharmaTech before a wide audience of highly respected health professionals and well-regarded social and political representatives of both Romania and Slovenia, symbolized the end of the first phase of the acquisition process of Pharma Tech. The program took place on the premises of the Marriott Hotel. The presentation included launching the company’s new name and image as well as introducing the company’s broad spectrum of the most up-to-date antibiotics. Lek’s own product Amoksiklav was prominently featured as it is one of the most effective and safest antibiotics available and meets the latest set of guidelines in the treatment of numerous infections. The presentation included a speech by the renowned Romanian professional Prof. Dr. Adrian Streinu-Cercela, the director of the Bucharest Clinic of Infectious Diseases. This was further testimony to Lek’s desire to share its experience and knowledge thereby contributing to the development of the Romanian pharmaceutical industry.

The modernization of Lek PharmaTech’s manufacturing facilities in Targu Mures has begun. The work is scheduled for completion by the end of this year. Towards the end of the year, we also plan to start construction of a new plant for the manufacture of oral cephalosporins (which are a group of safe and effective antibiotics meeting the latest guidelines for the treatment of many infections). According to our policy, we are convinced that encouraging the sharing of knowledge and adhering to international standards of good manufacturing practices (GMP), will assure the success of our plans to export drugs to the markets of Central and Eastern Europe.

We are projecting a 2% growth in employment, mainly of professionals in the pharmaceutical field.

On this special occasion Lek PharmaTech donated USD 100.000 for Romanian pediatric clinics across the country, therefore making our motto “together for health” come to life.

At the start of his speech at the official ceremony, Metod Dragonja, the president of the Board of Management, emphasized the following: “Our ambition is to become a leader in providing a wide range of generic drugs for the treatment of infectious diseases in Central and Eastern Europe, which of course also includes Romania. Our goal is to make Lek PharmaTech an integral part of the Lek Group. We are convinced that we will succeed in this on the basis of sound cooperation with Romanian professionals.”